


Luck of The Draw

by B_Dazzled



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Bounty Hunters, Crimes & Criminals, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Gambling, Opposites Attract, Original Character-centric, Original Fiction, Original Mandalorian, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Romance, Slow Burn, Space Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28146660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Dazzled/pseuds/B_Dazzled
Summary: She was a bad girl with unnaturally good luck.He was a Mandalorian who's luck had run dry.The Force brought them together, but can an Echani with loose morals get along with a straight laced mandalorian?It's a real gamble.Will the odds be in their favor, or are they just trying to cheat fate?In a Galaxy far, far away, anything is possible.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 1





	Luck of The Draw

**Author's Note:**

> Trying something new with this. Going to try to update when I can. I've wanted to write a romance for a long time and, boy, do I love playing with the Star Wars Universe. 
> 
> Going to be entirely original characters, story taking place vaguely after episode 9. Whole new adventure with less Galaxy ending stakes and more fun crime shenanigans. 
> 
> Enjoy. Or don't. I'm not your mom.

Nar shaddaa was an ugly little moon. Possibly uglier than the oozing pussball that it orbited, Nal Hutta. The perfect place to come if one wanted to disappear. The perfect place to hide. To run or just to enjoy a nice game of Sabaac. 

In a well-lit corner of a filthy Cantina, a small group had gathered to watch a game. Two people sat facing each other, cards in hand, a pile of credit chips in the center between them. 

A hush had fallen over the table as another card was drawn. A Twi'lek exchanged a look with a pretty waitress who was looking excitedly over his shoulder as he added the new card to his hand. 

Across from him, his opponent shook her choppy white hair and took a long slow drag from her cigara. After a moments consideration, she set a card down in the discard pile, smirking with smudged red lips. She exhaled a stream of silver smoke through her nostrils, then finally spoke. 

"Ya know..." she said, tapping her chipped black nails, "my sister used ta say, 'Zandra, Lady luck is watchin' out for ya.' She may not have been right about everything, but, boy. She sure was right 'bout that." 

Amber liquid splashed across the imperfect surface of the table as Zandra Fenni picked up yet another card from the deck. 

"Watch yerself," he snapped, "you only get to brag if you win." 

" _When_ ," Zandra corrected, lifting her glass, "unless you think you got something there that can best my hand." 

Over her shoulder, a large wookiee growled. 

" _Relax, friend,_ " she said, switching to huttese, " _this one isn't smart enough to know I'm bluffing_." 

" _This one_ , " the twi'lek across from her replied, also in perfect huttese, " _is smart enough to understand huttese_!" 

He placed his cards on the table, grinning wildly. 

"Read 'em," he cackled, leaning back in his chair with a self satisfied smirk, "pure Sabacc." 

A hush fell over the crowd gathered and at her side, the wookiee let out a soft growl. Zandra sighed deeply, folding her cards together and placing one hand to her face. 

"Oi," she sighed, "Rook, I hope you didn't order that new bowcaster yet..." 

The twi'lek snickered and began to reach across the table to collect the credits. Like lightning, Zandras small, pale hand snatched his wrist and she turned her face back up with a wild grin. 

"-'Cuz I'm gunna buy you a much nicer one!" She declared, slamming her cards down in the middle. "An idiots array!" 

At once, the silence erupted into a cacophony of shouts and exclamations. The Twi'lek stared at the cards laid out before him for several long moments in disbelief before he collapsed in on himself, hands over his face. 

Zandra put out her cigara on the bottom of her boot before reaching across to gather her winnings. 

"Cheater." 

Zandra straightened up, her winnings only half in her bag now. 

"Didn' catch that, _Friend_ ," she icily responded, "wanna speak up?" 

The Twi'lek slammed his fist into the table and rose to his feet. 

"I said yer a cheater!" He snarled, thrusting a finger at her across the table. 

Zandra dropped her bag, only half full now, in the open claws of her furry companion without a word. The wookiee gave a low growl of concern, but quickly scooped the rest of the chips into the bag. 

"Yeah. That's what I thought ya said," she sighed, cracking her fingers, "say it again." 

"A dirty, filthy che-" 

He did not get to finish the sentence. 

Tracking fob in hand, a tall Mandalorian walked through crowded streets, weaving in and out of passers by. Another day, another bounty. 

Callin wasn't new to this life. In all his thirty-two years, he'd taken enough work to gain a decent enough reputation in the guild. Still, this was hardly his first choice. 

Callin missed the battlefields, missed the chaos, the scent of blood in the air. He missed death following close behind him, inches away at every second. He missed the singing of adrenaline in his veins. Nothing else compared to it. 

It was hard to be a soldier without a war to fight in, however. This new age of peace was well and good for most, but Callin felt an itch now that hunting down some underworld criminal just wouldn't scratch. 

He checked the fob again, remembering the details of his prey. Female, late twenties, Echani. Wanted for smuggling, assault, arson, theft... it was a long list. Still, her bounty wasn't a huge one, which meant that she was still relatively small time. She was more or less a job of convenience. He was already out this way anyway, after all, otherwise he really wouldn't have bothered. 

As he neared the targets location, he thought back to what it was his employer had said; "don't gamble with Lady Luck." 

What was that supposed to mean? 

At that exact moment, a body went hurling through the window of a cantina just in front of him. As he watched the spray of glass and playing cards, Calin couldn't help but smirk behind his helmet. 

"Lady Luck, eh?"

Zandra rubbed her knuckles and cracked her neck. 

"Nobody," she growled, " _Nobody_ calls me a cheater." 

The wookiee silently slid a solid chunk of credits across the bar top, glancing pleadingly from the broken window to the angry bar-keep. The man behind the counter opened his mouth to shout, but stopped, grabbed the stack and counted the credits. Enough to replace the window and then some. He stuffed the credit chips into his dusty jacked and reached out for a broom. 

"Needed ta' replace that window anyway," Rook heard him mumble as he stepped out from behind the bar to sweep up the mess. 

Zandra busied herself with tidying up her mess as well, righting tables that had been knocked over in the scuffle and pushing in chairs. 

That was when _he_ walked in. Zandra knew a Bounty Hunter when she saw one. A Mando too. They were always the most annoying to deal with, but thankfully they were also incredibly rare. 

As he walked in, Zandra sunk back into her chair, slouching, appearing to the world calm, carefree. Rook eyed the stranger suspiciously as Zandra waved him away with the back of her hand. A sign that was clear as day;  
_Ready the ship. I'll handle this._

The Echani sighed, fishing out a clean deck of cards from inside her coat pocket. New. Unopened. She placed them at the center of the table along with a crushed pack of cigaras, then, slowly, she raised her hands. 

"Yer a long way from home, Mando," she purred, "come all this way just to see me? I'm flattered." 

The Mando stopped his approach, finger on the back of a chair. Something about her just made him smile. Echani or not, she had spunk. 

"Is this seat taken?" He found himself asking. 

Mentally he slapped himself. What was he doing? He really should have just knocked her out and cuffed her. It wasn't even like he could blame it on her pretty face. She was average at _best_. Not even his type. 

Even so, he smiled again when she tilted her head and smirked. 

"It is now, Mister Mando," she replied, waving a hand to the chair as if she were personally inviting him to a meeting. 

_Feth_ , he mentally chastised himself, _I guess I am lonely._

Slowly, he pulled his pistol out, aimed in her direction across the table as he took his seat. 

"Oh my, my, my," she purred, raising her hands again, "pulling out your toys already? _Kinky_." 

Calin thanked the Gods for the helmet he wore, because the blush on his face would have been humiliating. 

"What is this?" He asked, ignoring the discomfort he now felt. He gestured to the items on the table and her pale eyes followed. 

"You ain't blind, are ya?" She raised a white eyebrow. "They're playing cards and my smokes." 

"Yes," he replied, taking a deep breath. Patience. She was trying to get to him. "Why are they on the table?" 

Zandra shrugged, keeping her hands up at all times. 

"They were everything I had on me," she answered, "I figured you'd want to know." 

Calin studied her face, gray eyes locked on his visor, hands steady, face perfectly calm. He could usually tell a liar when he saw one, and she didn't seem to be lying. 

"You have no weapon?" He questioned, absently picking up the crushed pack of cigaras. For some reason, he felt the need to memorize the brand. 

Now Zandra laughed and to his absolute horror, he found he liked the sound of it. It was too loud, punctuated by a snort, but it sounded so... fun. 

"Hey now," she chuckled, sighed and then went very suddenly, quite _deadly_ serious. "I never said _that_." 

Calin almost didn't have time to react. With a crash, he found himself on the floor with the table toppled over him. In an instant, his target was running past him, headed out of the cantina. He shoved the table off of him with a growl, jumping to his feet. He let out a low curse and gave chase, leaping out the broken cantina window. Into the crowded city streets, he glanced around at hundreds of faces. His tracker flashed in his palm, assuring him that she was still near by, but it would be hard to find her in this sea. 

Or it _would_ have been, if not for the flash of silver shining in the harsh city light. Her hair. He knew it was her hair that he saw slipping down an alley just ahead of him. She was fast, he had to admit. She had almost escaped from sight. 

Almost. 

Zandra slid down a dark, polluted alley, side stepping a poor homeless rodian napping against a rusty wall. Neon lights flickered, garish colors bouncing off puddles of suspiciously oozy liquid. Zandra made a point to jump over these puddles, trying not to leave footprints, just in case bounty boy wasn't far behind. Judging from the tracking fob she had spotted, she had a feeling she'd be seeing him again. Annoying, but if she could get to Rook they could get off this rock and off to some other world to spend their winnings. 

She was just _dying_ for a new vibroblade. It had been too long since she'd danced with steel, but those didn't come cheap. Even winning a pot like this one wouldn't quite do it. Not to mention, the ship would need refueling and repairs soon... 

She turned a corner and swore. A fence blocked her in, a dead end. She could hear the heavy echo of Mandalorian footsteps approaching. Her sharp pale eyes scanned the darkened alley, falling on a tall trash disposal bin. Well, it wasn't elegant, but neither was she.

  
Callin's dark eyes scanned the dead end behind the security of his visor. Empty. How was it possible? She absolutely came this way. There was no way he had mistakenly followed the tiny footprints of some other petite woman wearing the exact same shoes. In a moment of complete panic he tried to remember what he knew about Echani. Could they turn invisible? Leap incredible heights? 

_No. Of course not, di'kut_ , he silently chastised himself. _But how did she-_

His gaze fell on the obvious solution. A disgusting solution, but he had to admire her determination. 

"Zandra Tanaka, come quietly and I won't hurt you." 

He was hoping he could collect her without blood shed. After all, she was worth more alive. He lifted the lid of the trash bin, blaster at the ready. 

Empty, save for three bags of garbage and a horrendous stench. He frowned and bent over the bin to look under one of the bags. 

Zandra swung in just then, using a dead wire leading from building to building and her jacket as a zip line. Her boots connected with his armored back, sending him tumbling into the bin with a comical ' _oof_!' Her boot kicked the lid down hard and she crouched on top, her light frame only barely keeping the more powerful mando contained. 

"Oh, stop yer cryin'," she snickered, setting the lock on the bin, "there's a club and a bar on either side of this alley. Someone'll come by and unlock ya soon. I'd bet my heart on it." 

More banging and muffled curses and threats to 'get her'. Zandra cocked her head and frowned. 

"Ah, not a chance, mando." She jumped off the bin, and put her jacket back on. "I plan ta be off world by the time you get out." 

Silence now. He seemed to be listening. Good. Zandra stuck her hands into her pocket but frowned when she realized she'd left her pack of cigs in the cantina when she bolted. Damn. It was going to be a long trip to Nal Hutta. 

"You're welcome ta keep tryin' though, mister...? What's your name?" 

Callin took a shallow breath. Even with his helmet, the stench was awful. This woman had a mean streak. He would absolutely relish turning her in. Still, when she asked for his name, he answered.  
He had no idea why. 

"Callin," he answered, "remember that name. You'll be cursing it behind bars." 

She laughed again and tossed her messy white hair.

"Well, ain't you somethin'." She checked her wrist comm, getting the signal that they were ready for take off. "How about this, _Callin_. If you can find me again, not only will I go quietly, I'll even let ya take me out on a date." 

The Mandalorian didn't answer, and that was just fine with her. 

"But you'll have to find me first." 

"Oh, I'll find you," he growled, "it's a promise!" 

Zandra stuck her hands in her pockets and walked away. 

"Well, I guess I'll see ya then." He voice took on a teasing tone. "Looking forward to our date. I like candle lit dinners and good booze. I ain't picky about Flowers though." 

She could vaguely hear more frustrated banging as she turned the corner and vanished once more in the filthy city streets. 

Rook heard her light footsteps up the ramp and quickly moved from the pilots seat. Zandra was the captain and she liked to be the one who handled her "baby". A clunky antique of a ship, barely hanging on by a thread and Zandra absolutely _adored_ it. She called it "Beauty" affectionately and even talked to it sometimes. Rook found it bizarre, but she always got them out of trouble, so he could hardly complain. 

"Gave him the slip, Z?" He asked in Shyriiwook and she simply gave a nod as she slid perfectly into her seat. 

"It wasn't hard," she yawned, hands on the controls. "Bit disappointin' actually. He got flustered easy. It was fun." 

"You have to stop taunting them," he growled as she took the ship up. "You're gunna get caught one day." 

"Nah," she snorted, "I got Lady Luck on my side and she never fails me." 

"And if your luck runs out?" 

"Well," she smirked, "that'll be one Hell of a winning streak ended."

Callin watched the ship vanish into the atmosphere with a sigh. He was covered in garbage, and frustrated. The poor barkeep that had let him out looked ready to faint, but  
Callin paid him no mind. 

"I'll find you," he muttered, glancing down at the crushed pack of cigaras in his hand, "you can bet on it."


End file.
